I’ve picked up and put down a lot of books lately. Not that I didn’t want to read those books, I just didn’t want to read them right now. I didn’t have any books I had to read right now, so I gave myself this opportunity to enjoy summer reading and try a lot of different books.
I sat on my sofa surrounded by looks picking up different ones from each pile. I was surprised a graphic novel pulled me in to keep reading but as I started flipping through “Jo An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort of)” by Kathleen Gros I needed to revisit the March sisters.
I love a good retelling of a classic story because I feel like with Classics, we tend to focus on the differences rather than the similarities. Retellings often show us how relevant that story still is today. Once we adapt the characters to modern times, we realize how similar our emotions and experiences are to those characters.
In this adaptation, Jo is in 8th grade, writing for her school paper, while keep an anonymous blog. Obviously different from the Jo March we know from the original story but still very much the same girl. Meg, Amy, and Beth are all present in this retelling as well as Marme, even Laurie. Modern day versions but still very similar to those characters we all know and love.
In this graphic novel, we follow the March girls through 1 year of their life told through Jo’s perspective. Jo joins her school newspaper and learns how to bring a personal perspective to her writing. We see her character grow through the story, discover who she really is and how the people she cares about most are with her every step of the way. Jo comes out to her family and friends, but this isn’t just a coming out story. It’s a small part of her story, not the focus of the book. I liked how Gros told this part of Jo’s story as one part of what makes up the whole character, not the entire focus of the story.
This book is an enjoyable retelling of a classic with a modern spin. I do now wonder if Alcott wrote today, if she would have Jo write a blog. I feel like she would have.
